Introduction:Approximately, 90% of the orthodontic patients report pain and this is one of the major causes for discontinuing and avoiding orthodontic care. Placement of orthodontic separators is one of the major steps at the start of the orthodontic treatment.  Previous studies have shown that psychological factors have an important influence on pain perception. Both in clinic and experimental settings, distraction has been shown to reduce pain.

Objectives: To assess the effect of psychological activity on orthodontic pain perception and analgesic consumption after orthodontic separator placement in adolescents.

Methodology:100 adolescent patients were selected for the study. Their baseline psychological activity was assessed. Orthodontic separators were placed at the mesial and distal contact points of the maxillary and mandibular first molars. A 100–mm visual analog scale was used for pain assessment. Analgesic consumption was recorded as binary response (yes/no).Both outcomes were assessed at 1 baseline time point and 7 follow–up time points (bedtime on days1–7).

Results:Our preliminary findings show that 40% showed relief on day 1, 81% showed relief on day 3 and 98% showed relief on day 7.

Conclusion:Psychological distraction significantly influenced the orthodontic pain perception during orthodontic treatment. It is advisable for patients to engage in psychological activities like listening to music, watching media, reading novels and meditation to reduce the analgesic consumption .Further research is needed in this area to better understand the association between psychological activity and orthodontic pain.